Washing Bear
by odalys-ortiz
Summary: John's four legged friend needs to get cleaned up and he could use some help. Careese of course and can take place at any point during the first half of S2. #CareeseIsEternal


Disclaimer: Only used for entertainment purposes because at this point, I don't what the show is anymore. This story is unbeta'd so apologies for my atrocious mistakes;)

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Washing Bear

"Okay John, I'm here. Where is he?"Joss asked as she slipped through the open door to John's loft.

Much to her surprise, Bear came barreling out of the kitchen but stopped just short of her. There was a moment of panic when she saw that he was caked in mud and blood.

"Don't worry. The blood isn't his," John reassured as he stepped out of the kitchen.

Joss put down the duffle bag she brought with her and leaned down to scratch Bear behind the ears. When John got close enough, she had to hide the snicker at his wet look. "Aww, you didn't have to take another shower just for me" she teased.

"Very funny Joss." John gave Bear a Dutch command to have him move so that he could escort Joss further into his home. He then offered to carry her bag for her. When he had called her for help with Bear, John informed her to bring a change of clothes, that way if things got a bit too hectic, she would have something to change into. John learned that lessoned the hard way when he made the mistake of trying to bath the overly energetic dog by himself, resulting in himself completely drenched.

After the incident, John tried to call Harold for help but he had been busy making arrangements to start a new charity that would go towards families struggling with taking care of their children who have cancer. Shaw of course was looking for her next meal and did not wish to be disturbed so Joss was his last option. It made him smile at how comfortable Bear was around her. When he called him away to let her in, he didn't want to leave her side.

Joss got down to business as she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail before unbuttoning her black shirt sleeves then pulled them up to her elbows. "So let's get this done. You want to get clean Bear? If you behave, I will make sure that your master gives you a big steak." John rolled his eyes because she was treating him like a baby. At the same time, he couldn't help but be amused. "Where's your bathroom?" She asked after giving John her attention.

John used his arm to point her towards a hallway behind the king size bed, dropping her bag on the bed before following close behind. He knew she was going to mock him when she saw the state of his bathroom with water everywhere. Bear only just touched the water but wouldn't stay put and he couldn't explain why. "You try to handle a dog that gets excited as him" he commented when he heard Joss fighting back a laugh as he went to set up the large bath again.

Joss continued to scratch Bear behind the ears while watching. "He's just being playful John. You told me that you save him from an abusive owner right?"

"That's right."

"Well, you can't really blame him. It reminds me of an orphan that I helped last month. Her name was Anna and she was with a foster family that treated her like dirt. When child services got her into a good family, she was scared at first. I was concerned about her so I asked that they keep me informed. Every once in a while, I would visit her and she would smile because she remembered me as being a good person. I told her that there aren't just bad people in the world and to give her new family a chance. Next day, I got word that the family took her to an amusement park and she had a wonderful time. It made me happy because she was able to be normal again." She crouched down and looked into Bear's big eyes. "It's the same with him. You gave him a place he calls home and you've been great to him. He's happy with you. I can tell you spoil him too."

John scoffed at the comment. "You give me too much credit." He always found it hard to believe that someone like himself could bring any kind of good into the world. "Hand me that leash will ya? Maybe that will stop him from running away at least."

Joss looked to her left to see the leather leash hanging from the door knob and grabbed it before leading Bear to the tub. "It looks like you can take a pretty nice bath here." She couldn't help but be jealous when her tub barely held her inside.

"Tell that to him" he pointed his head towards Bear as he reached over the side to grab some shampoo and a bucket. "The water's good. Go ahead and put the leash on." She did as instructed and hooked it into his collar before John called him over.

He climbed the two steps up before jumping into the tub, causing a splash. Joss laughed at the exasperated look on John's face before heading up to him. "Mind telling me how this happened?"

The two of them got on their knees on the top step near the tub. Their shoulders were touching but neither one seemed to mind. As they began to soap up Bear who was so far being well behaved, John started to explain the dirty dog. "A number got a bit too squirrely and tried to outrun me. Bear tracked the guy down to an abandoned construction site. It had been raining earlier today and the mud actually did us a favor. When Bear chased the guy through, he got tripped up and I was able to catch up thanks to Bear biting down hard on the guy's arm. Problem is that Bear still had quite the adrenaline rush and began bouncing all over the place, thus these results."

"Sounds innocent enough" she pointed out.

Bear was sitting still, calmly enjoying the grooming from his master and the woman that he had began to let into his life. Even in the eyes of a dog, he could see that she was a pretty person and he also noticed the longing looks his master gave her. Every time she left his presence, he noticed his master's demeanor change. He was happy around her but even in the Bear's eyes, he knew that there was something more than what he saw. There would be a plan hatched by the dog to make things a bit interesting once his fur was nice and clean.

Unbeknownst to his plan, John and Joss continued to get the mud from him, occasionally bumping each other's shoulders playfully. She then took it one step further by throwing small droplets of water his way, amused by his objections. It was wonderful to have some kind of normalcy between them. There was no number to be rescued, no homicide to be solved. It was just the two of them getting a hyper dog clean.

Bear, growing tired of waiting for his move, jumped out of the tub. Joss shrieked as she became drenched while John shouted for him to stay. Without them realizing it, Bear circled around them, essentially pulling them together with the leash until they collided with one another.

Missions accomplished, he stood by the door to wait for the results.

John and Joss, completely caught off guard with what just happened, stared at each other. He quickly started to apologize. "Joss I'm so sorry. I don't know what got…" Joss put a finger over his lips, silencing him.

She took a look at Bear before returning her focus back to him. "Are we so obvious that even Bear notices something between us?"

There was no need to ask what she meant. It was a feeling that he had been fighting a losing battle for quite some time now. John tenderly brushed some wet hair from her face. "It's not that I don't feel anything for you."

"It's because you don't want to hurt me and want me to have some type of normal life right?"

He was slightly embarrassed to admit how on point she was. "Right."

"Even if it makes you unhappy?" Joss pressed further. He nodded, causing her to chuckle. "Do you get that I'm a big girl who has been taking care of herself for years?" She wasn't angry as much as she was pointing out the facts. John could be quite thickheaded so sometimes he had to be reminded about certain things. Once again he nodded then Joss turned her attention to Bear. "I think he just wants you to be happy because you deserve it. Better give him extra treats later for being so smart."

Joss caressed John's cheek before leaning in to kiss him. Much to her surprised, he pulled away. Before she could question if she had misread everything, he began speaking. "Joss, I don't deserve anything. You know that I've done a lot of bad things in my life."

"I don't care John. All of that is in the past." Joss tried again only for him to pull away again.

"I can't."

She groaned in frustration. "John, there's a different in can't and won't. It isn't that you can't, it's that you won't because you don't want to hurt me like you think you will. Here's a news flash, none of us are sure when our time is up so you might as well take life by the horns and jump head first like I'm trying to do." Joss eyed him darkly. "But it seems like you don't get what I'm trying to do." Without waiting another second, she pulled on John's shirt hard to have him collide into her lips. She barely heard Bear in the background yelp in joy before Joss felt strong arms encircling her body. His mouth moved on hers as John slowly tasted the sweetness hidden underneath.

After calming down, Bear sat on his legs as he watched the scene before him. His tail was wagging enthusiastically while his master and friend shared a moment. Wanting to give them some privacy, Bear trotted away to go enjoy a meal for a job well done as the sound of splashing water could be heard in the distance.

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A/N: I wish that Terra Incognita could have spent two minutes talking about Joss's death. Jessica wasn't the current reason why John was so shut off. They couldn't have cut out the part with Root eating the burrito or something? Hope you all enjoyed the fluff with Bear as the schemer.


End file.
